


Gentle Love

by Kinozaki



Category: YuruYuri
Genre: F/F, Genderbending, Manga & Anime, Romance, Transformation, Transgender, Yuri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 18:07:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21201866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinozaki/pseuds/Kinozaki
Summary: A student council president infatuated with a girl who seems to have absolutely no interest in them whatsoever finds love from an unexpected place, as well as the strength to finally act on feelings they never knew they had.





	Gentle Love

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally published on DeviantArt on July 27, 2018.
> 
> In an effort to accurately reflect my growth as a writer, my older stories are going to be uploaded chronologically, until publishing becomes concurrent.
> 
> As such, please bear with me through any roughness, as a lot has happened in two years, and I will be going through that at a very accelerated pace.

“Toshinou Kyouko!” Akihito shouted as he threw open the tall door to the large, sparsely decorated club room that once belonged to the tea club, but was now the frequent host to a group of girls, one in particular who was the focus of his ire. He scanned the room the second he stepped in, quickly sizing up the three girls sitting at the table in the center of the room, two of them new faces to him, before his gaze drifted over to a blonde girl lazing on the tatami, resting with her hand on her chin while the other held a volume of manga.

As he stomped in, three sets of eyes darted up from the conversation they were having to look at their loud intruder. The fourth set of eyes lazily glanced up, getting about as far as Akihiko’s chin before dropping back down to read. Behind Akihiko, a small girl with thick, white hair filed in behind him, grinning wide and looking every bit as cheery as he was upset. “Sorry for the intrusion,” she chirped, her voice airy and full of mirth.

“I can’t believe it! How do you always do this!” Akihiko continued to yell, practically stomping his way over to the girl on the floor, ignoring everyone else in the room while the girl with him graciously bowed her head to each one in turn before stopping at his side. He put his hands on his hips and leaned down over the blonde, who, in turn, leaned away from him, a confused look spreading on her face that said, simply, “Who, me?”

“You never study, you sleep through classes, hardly even pick up a book that isn’t manga, and yet you’re at the top of the class!” he exclaimed, a faint glimmer of realization sparkling in Kyouko’s eyes.

This was news to the girls at the table, or at least two of them. Akihiko caught their shocked expressions out of the corner of his eye, and heard the wonder in their voices as they exclaimed, “What?!” in unison.

“Kyouko, no way! That’s really amazing! I had no idea you were so smart!” the red-head chimed in, her words making Akihiko bristle even more despite her sweet, childish voice.

The twin-tailed girl was equally surprised, but not at all impressed. “Eeeh? How’d an idiot like her get that smart?” she said, her crass words conflicting with her more refined tone. “I’d have thought it’d be a miracle if she even got her name right on a test.” Somehow, this irritated Akihiko even more than the unabashed praise.

“Ehehehe…” Kyouko giggled, “I just study the night before. Cramming works just fine, anything more is a waste.”

The two younger girls had a hard time processing this. The older girl, however, simply sighed, the exhausted look on her face suggesting that this topic was a sticking point between the two, and that she often lost the argument.

“Hey...you don’t have to put it like that, you know? Lots of people study really hard and can’t…” the girl paused, looking up at Akihiko as though she’d just remembered he was in the room, “don’t do as well,” she finished. Despite her best intentions, though, changing a single word did nothing to save Akihiko’s pride.

“And you boast about it, too! You’ve got no work ethic at all, but go farther than people who work their fingers to the bones, studying all night, every night! I’ve got bags under my eyes, but you’re just goofing around, reading manga and-”

_CRUNCH_

While Akihiko was going off on her, Kyouko had rolled over slightly, reached onto the table, and grabbed a rice cracker. She tried to bite into it, gently at first, but, finding it gave no purchase, she chomped down on it, hard, interrupting his speech.

“-and snacking on rice crackers all the time!” he finished, raising his voice as his face started to flush from his temper.

“Ehehe, guess these are a little than I thought,” Kyouko said, rubbing the back of her head. “Oh! But that’s not true, I don’t snack on rice crackers all the time. Sometimes I have ice cream! Ooooh, Yui,” Kyoko cried, turning to the older girl, whose dark hair was a bit messy in the back, resting on her shoulders, “can you go get me some rum raisin? That would be sooo good right now!”

“Eh? You can go get some yourself on the way home.”

“Awww, that’s no fair…” Kyouko pouted.

“What’s not fair is how you coast on by!” Akihiko yelled, stealing back the conversation he was having. “And if you want to talk about fairness, how is you using this club room any fair? This was the tea ceremony club’s room and you just come in and goof off whenever you want!”

“But we’re the amusement club!”

“That’s not an officially recognized club!”

“Then how’d you know where to find me?”

“D-d-don’t worry about that!” Akihiko stuttered out, a different flush entering his cheeks than the red-hot anger he’d been showing just moments before. “A-as the student council vice president, I can’t just have a group of students using a club room anymore!”

Clearly picking up on Akihiko’s insinuation, the amusement club let out a collective gasp.

The girl at Akihiko’s side finally piped up, resting a hand on his arm. “Now now, calm down, Akihiko!”

“Chitose?” he asked, turning towards her.

“We can’t just come in and start yelling at people,” she continued, smiling widely. Maybe there’s some other way we can resolve this. Maybe we could have a contest or something!”

“A contest?! What’s that going to solve?”

“Well, maybe it’ll be that if you win, they have to leave, but if you lose, we have to join their club!”

“Chitose!”

“A contest!” Kyouko interrupted, finally arriving to the conversation. “You’re on! You know,” she said, spinning up off of the tatami, her skirt rising slightly around her as she pushed her arms to her side, taking on a confident pose, “people say I’m pretty amazing when I str-”

“Stop, stop!” This time it was Yui interrupting, leaping up and covering Kyouko’s mouth. “Maybe think about what you’re going to say, idiot,” she said, pointing to Akihiko.

Sweat started to bead Kyouko’s brow as Yui removed her hand. “Str...str...stromboli!” Kyouko stiffly declared, painting a dumb smile on her face.

Yui slapped the back of her head before sitting back down.

“You know, people say I’m pretty amazing when I strike a pose!” Kyouko continued, as though the last few seconds had never happened, quickly sweeping a pink hat off the floor, putting it on her head, and crossing her arms in a smooth, fluid motion.

“No hats in school!” Akihiko scolded, snatching the hat right off of her head.

“Eh?! My MIrakurun hat!” Kyouko cried, flailing towards the vice president ineffectively.

“Don’t you already have one of those, though, Kyouko?” the red-headed underclassman asked.

“Oh, yeah, that’s right! I forgot you were with me when we got them, Akari! Haha, guess you can just have that extra!”

“Wh-why would I want something like this!” Akihiko cried, tossing the hat to Chitose, who caught it with no trouble at all. “A-anyway, if we’re going to have a contest, it only makes sense that it’s over the next test! If I get the higher grade, you all have to leave this club room!”

“And if I win?” Kyouko asked, smirking.

“Th-then...then we’ll...we’ll join the amusement club...” Akihiko answered, his voice drifting off as he blushed.

“Perfect! I’m not just gonna win, though! I’m gonna win and make you cry!”

“A-as if you could!” Akihiko declared, stiffly turning on his heels and stomping out of the room.

Chitose, still smiling widely, bowed to each of them in turn again before leaving. “Have a good day!”

Akihiko was already out of the small building that housed the club room by the time Chitose was finished. She jogged to catch up to him, holding the pink hat as she took her place just behind him. The two of them said nothing as they made their way back to the student council room, Akihiko trying, and failing, to hide that he was quietly fuming.

His silent anger became much louder the second they entered the clubroom. Akihiko let out a frustrated sigh, almost a growl in its own right, as he took a seat at the table.

“Gah! I just can’t believe her! Having the gall to say she only studies the night before a test…” he grumbled.

Chitose set the hat down in front of Akihiko before sitting next to him, widening her smile a little as he turned to look at her.

“Wh-why do you still have this, anyway?”

“Oh? I thought you’d wanted to keep it. It’s a pretty cute color.”

“Th-that’s… Y-you know we can’t wear hats at school…” Akihiko trailed off, picking up the hat and looking it over, noticing a couple strands of long, blonde hair stuck on the inside.

Chitose giggled a little as she watched. “We’re not in school all the time, silly.”

“Hmpf,” was all Akihiko could offer in response as he let the hat fall back to the table.

“She can be a handful, Kyouko Toshinou. It looks like her friends get annoyed by her, too,” Chitose remarked as she cleaned her glasses.

“I just…” Akihiko started, before letting out a loud sigh. “Maybe you were right back there, about me being too harsh. Whenever I see her I…”

“It was kind of cute, you know? The way you were obsessing over the test scores, scratching at your head so hard it started to bleed before I said we should go see her. And your eyes lit up as soon as I said it! There’s a bounce to you whenever you’re off looking for her.”

“And then as soon as I saw her, I lost my temper. I started yelling and threatening her and her friends… That’s pretty terrible of me, Chitose.”

Chitose sat there, humming deeply to herself as she considered her words carefully. “I don’t think… No, the problem isn’t you, Akihiko.”

“What? But...I mean...I’m the only who controls how I act and-”

Akihiko was cut off by the small girl raising a finger up to his lips, shaking her head at him. “Uh-uh. You weren’t always like that with her, you know. You might not know it, but I saw how you were last year. Always going out of your way to be nice to her and help her, lending her pencils and erasers that you never got back; sharing your book with her when she forgot hers, even though she’d always just fall asleep; trying to cheer her up with jokes on days when her friend was sick, while she just sighed and waved you away. You’ve had to deal with a lot of her being...well, kind of rude. You saw how her friends were back there, they were kind of short with her too.”

Chitose looked Akihiko right in the eyes, having finally reached the crux of her speech. “Akihiko...I think...I think that your head is trying to tell your heart something, and that maybe you should listen to it.”

“B-but I…” Akihiko began, looking down at the hat.

His words hung heavy in his throat, seeping away every bit of moisture in his mouth and leaving it dry and cottony as he tried to put his feelings into words. Chitose simply put her hand on the back of his, smiling warmly as he looked back up at her with the beginnings of tears in his eyes.

“You always get like this after you see her, Akihiko. I don’t think it’s worth it. If after all of this time, she can’t look away from herself long enough to see the friends around her… Oh dear,” Chitose said, her eyes glistening from behind her glasses, “I think maybe I’ve said too much! I’m sorry, Akihiko, I’m going to go use the bathroom, then we can get back to work, okay?”

She pulled away, not waiting for an answer, the faint sound of her footsteps traveling quickly down the hall as soon as she closed the door.

Akihiko sat there, looking down at the hand Chitose had been touching, knowing full-well what the end of her sentence was. The words hung heavy in the room, and heavier on his heart, as he stood up and walked to the window, carrying the Mirakurun hat in his hands. He focused on his breathing as he looked at the school grounds to try and stem the tide of emotions threatening to burst forth at any second.

He glanced back down at the hat again, the lump in his throat growing harder as he stared at the gaudy, pastel graphic for the magical girl manga that Kyouko was so fond of.

“Ya know, this is the first thing she’s ever given me, huh?” he said to no one in particular before slipping the hat on his head and adjusting the fit of it. “And she was only okay with it because she already had one…”

Sighing, he took out his phone, opening his camera to look at himself. A chuckle caught in his throat and a smile crept into the corner of his lips as he saw himself. “Hey, come on now, Chitose... The color isn’t that cute…”

Akihiko put his phone away and looked over the school again, seeing groups of students leaving club activities together, smiling and laughing as they made their way home. Something about that made it all click to him, that the experience he was seeing down there was never one he could have with Kyouko Toshinou, and that it was, entirely, not his own failing.

He readjusted the hat, finding it suddenly uncomfortable and wondering if he’d put it down too far and covered up the spot he was scratching at earlier. “‘...then she’s not good for you.’” Akihiko said, finally finishing the sentence Chitose had left him with.

Instantly, he felt the pressure that was weighing him down fade away, a fluttery lightness spreading through his chest instead. It felt good, like he was free. Chitose was right, that he needed to listen to what his head was telling him instead of his stubborn heart.

“Gah…” Akihiko grumbled, readjusting the hat again, “Kyouko can’t even manage to give me a good hat, either. This thing’s had me itching like crazy since I first put it on. Alright, alright, I get the message. You’re gone too,” Akihiko declared, ripping the hat off of his head. “I’m going to have to thank Chitose when she gets b-”

“-ACK!” Akihiko’s deep moment of self-realization was shattered as long, thick strands of dull purple hair spilled down from his head the second he’d removed the hat. He easily felt the weight of it, his neck tilting back as it fell as if from out of nowhere, slapping against his back and brushing against the back of his knees. At the top of his vision, he could see a swath of bangs, and, straining his vision downwards, two thick, fluffy locks curving up around his cheeks. More hair framed the rest of his face, traveling down to rest just below his shoulders.

“Wh-wh-what is this?! Did Kyouko hide some kind of wig in here?!” he yelled, grabbing at the pointy bangs and letting out a yelp as he discovered that the hair was very much attached to his head. “Ah! Jeez… That...that Kyouko… Did she use glue or something?” he wondered, gently grabbing at the hair that framed his face and pulling it in front of him to look at it. “Wow...this is really silky and smooth for a wig… When would she have put it in though? She had it on her head right before I took it off, right? That seems like a pretty big risk, even for her… And it’s so long, too...” he said, reaching his hands back behind him and running his fingers through the thick, fluffy hair, feeling it fall against the back of his knees as he let go of it. He looked over at the cap on the floor, wondering if he’d missed something, but it looked the same as it had before. There was even a strand of Kyouko’s blonde hair still inside, joined by a couple purple.

“This is...this is really weird, even for Kyouko…” he muttered, taking his phone out of his pocket. “I wonder if I should tell someone.” He flipped through his contacts, his finger hovering over his texts with Chitose before he decided better of it. After how she’d looked when she left, he figured it was best to give her the space she needed, even with whatever was going on. “I wonder how all this looks on me…” he said, switching over to his camera and once again looking at himself on the screen.

He fumbled the phone as soon as he saw himself, the sound of a picture being taken filling the room as he scrambled to catch it before it hit the ground. Akihiko stopped it just an inch above the floor, hesitating to pull himself back up. He swallowed hard before looking at the phone again, needing to know if what he saw was right.

“No way…” he murmured. While he’d expected to just see him with long, purple hair, what he saw instead was a vaguely familiar face on a very familiar body. His eyebrows had changed dramatically, thinning themselves until they were hardly there at all, little more than long, thin lines on his face that were more slanted than curved. It wasn’t only shock that had made his eyes larger, and there wasn’t an emotion at all that could have changed his dirty, green irises into the deep, faded purple that were looking back at him. He blinked in disbelief, feeling thick, curly eyelashes bounce against each other as he tried to clear his vision. “I-is that really me…” he wondered, reaching his free hand up to his face and almost pulling it away in surprise when the image on his phone did the same.

As he tried to process everything that was happening, he watched as his skin lightened, taking on a smoother, peachy tone that looked healthier than his skin had before. Even the bags beneath his eyes disappeared, although his skin was still a little raw at the spot he’d been scratching earlier. His cheeks filled out under his fingertips, becoming softer and cushier, a light blush creeping into them. The rest of his face started changing too, a slight tingle travelling along as his jaw shifted and his chin rounded out. He almost felt like he was about to sneeze, but fought through it, too interested in what was happening and watching his nose shrink slightly, slimming a bit as the tip changed into a delicate point. Even his lips changed, taking on a pinker hue and puffing up slightly until they were just a bit fuller, the light catching them and making them look almost juicy.

“Th-that really is me!” he exclaimed as he pointed at the image on his phone, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence and making him blush with embarrassment. He quickly stuffed the phone back in his pocket, then tried to clear his throat, finding that, somehow, it only felt worse the more he tried, until he was coughing trying to get rid of a tickle that he was worried he’d put there himself. Akihiko made his way over to the small refrigerator the student council kept in the corner of the room. “Gah...really hope there’s still water in here…” he said, stopping mid-stride as his voice hit his ears. “E-eh?!” he cried out, grabbing at his neck. “N-no way…” he said, cutting his sentence off as he felt his throat shifting beneath his fingers, the lump on it smoothing away as it pushed out a voice that was so very unlike the one he’d had just moments ago.

“A-ahaha...you’re kidding me…” he said, the tickle fading from his throat as his voice settled into a higher pitch, his words lilting a bit at the end in a way that gave him a tone that was self-important, almost bordering on bratty. He felt at his neck again before he removed his hands, confirming that his Adam’s apple was completely gone now, and was almost certain that his neck had gotten slimmer, just a touch more slender.

Akihiko looked down at the refrigerator, knowing now that there was nothing any water could do for him, even if the rambunctious first-years had left any. “This is nuts…” he said, his voice a strangely cute mix of nervous and pouty, “it’s like I’m changing into a…” His sentence trailed off as he grabbed at his hair again, pulling up one of the locks that was resting so comfortably on his shoulder, a look of realization spreading across his face. “I really am becoming a girl, aren’t I?”

She let go of the hair, the dull purple strands falling against her shoulder just in time for them to squeeze in slightly, reducing her frame and leaving her shirt hanging loosely over her. The tightness she felt traveled down, wrapping around her waist like an overly-tight hug, squeezing in her waist and causing her shirt to billow, the garment now far too big for her. She looked down at what was happening, tipped off by the sudden feeling of air circulating through her shirt, slipping in through the arm holes. Akihiko was just in time to catch her arms slim down, becoming lithe and slender as what little hair she had on them disappeared, replaced by the same soft, peachy skin that she’d seen on her face. A trepidatious hand reached up to her shirt, and she tugged on her collar, letting her see the same healthy skin on her chest and stomach.

“Th-that’s nuts… I-I never wore my shirts that tight, but...are girls really this much smaller?” The shirt slipped out of her grip as her hands started to cramp up, feeling tight and compressed as they shrank down, leaving her palms so much smaller than they used to be. It felt like someone was pulling her along as they ran ahead, their grip slipping to her fingers as they cracked and grew longer, becoming slender and daintier as they did. Her close-cut nails grew out, pushing just a little past her fingertips and somehow taking on perfectly pleasant, round arches by the time they were done.

“Are...are Chi-Chitose’s...are they this small? With long fingers like this? She...she just put hers on mine before she left but I...I guess I never really paid attention…” As she wondered aloud, she started to feel a flutter in her chest. A blush popped into her cheeks as soon she realized the sensation started when she spoke about her friend. “N-n-no way! It’s...it’s not like that at all! I-I’ve just got a lot going on and…” Her sentence trailed off as the flutteriness was joined by a sudden tight, tender feeling. “O-oh, it’s just...just more of this…” she remarked, letting out a relieved sigh, as though her body changing more was far preferable.

“W-wait, though, if m-my chest feels weird, th-then…” She hurriedly grabbed at her shirt again, peering down it curiously. “Th-that means...b-boobs…” Her breath caught in her throat as she saw her nipples lighten. Their exact color was a little hard to make out from the darkness of the shirt, but she was certain they were pinker now, and that they looked a little bigger. A sudden wave of embarrassment washed over her, her whole face flushing as she let go of her shirt. “I-I can’t look at that, e-even if it is my body…” she said, her voice trailing off to sound small and irritatingly cute as she fidgeted with her hands.

Still, she couldn’t help but wonder what was happening as her chest started to feel sore. Not so much the specifics of it, but more of how she would look. Her mind instantly went to their newest student council members, complete opposite ends of the spectrum. One of them was small, edging on the runty side, with a chest that certainly matched, though Akihiko had never found herself considering that before this moment. She was loud and boisterous, always upset by the other first year, who was, to put it lightly, far more endowed than she was. Even without factoring in the size of her chest, she was undoubtedly feminine and ladylike, even during her worst spats with the noisy Sakurako. But, where would she fall? Would she be more like the petite Sakurako or more like the busty Himawari?

The feeling that something was pushing up against her chest had finally started to fade by the time her train of thought arrived at the fact that she’d never paid attention to how large Chitose was, saving her from the embarrassment that had just started to heat her face. She put her hand up to her chest, letting it hover there for a second. “It’s...it’s okay, right? J-just a little...for curiosity’s sake…” Having finally convinced herself, she pressed her hand down, pulling it away almost immediately as soon as she felt a soft, squishy mound underneath her shirt, her fingers instantly curving over it as its warmth filled her palm. “Th-that’s enough!”

Akihiko was panting heavily, a nervous sweat beading on her brow, as she tried to calm herself down, trying her best not to look at the rising and falling of her own chest.”A-all of this is normal...or as normal as it can be...I think…” she said, unable to muster up much reassurance. Luckily, her body continuing to change pulled her attention away, bringing her gaze down to her stomach as it grumbled slightly. “N-no way, I c-can’t be hungry...it’s nowhere near dinnertime,” she commented, bringing a hand down to her stomach and feeling as it started flatten underneath her, making her shirt even more ridiculously oversized.

  
In contrast, her pants started to feel a bit tighter, her belt slipping off the buckle as her hips pushed out slightly, widening into the beginnings of an hourglass figure. “Jeez, I can’t win with clothes, can I?!” she pouted, hurriedly pulling up her pants before they slipped and fastening her belt again. “It’s kinda uncomfortable,” she complained, before letting out a small yelp as her butt suddenly clenched tight. She quickly spun around, checking behind her out of instinct, though she knew there was no one in the room who might have touched her butt. By the time the feeling had faded, her pants felt even tighter. She timidly reached a hand behind her, touching her butt for just a second before jerking her hand away, confirming that there was far less room in the seat of her pants now, though the feeling of her underwear pressing into her cheeks was more than enough proof to begin with.

“Th-this is fine, right? Th-they’re not so tight that they’ll split or anything...right?” she murmured, her face becoming as red as a tomato as she imagined what would happen if Chitose were to walk in on her just as they tore. She vigorously shook the thought out of her head, clasping her hands over her cheeks to hide more of her face. “Th-there’s no way anything like that could happen!” she said, reassuring herself right until it dawned on her that the real problem with that scenario was that Chitose would have no idea who she was.

She began to fret over what she was going to do while a warm tightness spread through her groin. As it began to tingle, leaving her feeling even more lightheaded than her anxiety did, she thought maybe it was for the best if she just left the club room, leaving Chitose to wonder what happened to her. Maybe she could hide in the bathroom and make sure that Chitose was gone before she left the school. But what bathroom would she go in at this point? And wouldn’t that be kind of mean? Chitose was so nice to her, and had worked herself up so much that she was crying. Even with all that was happening, she’d be a terrible friend if she just ditched her.

Akihiko dismissed the option to run away, feeling a little relieved, although she was still breathing heavily, half from fear, half from the feeling of her crotch slowly changing. But, then, should she just stay in the room? What would Chitose think, coming in and finding some strange girl there? Whether she was standing there or sitting down doing work like nothing had happened, it would still be strange. She might think that she was a new student, or at least someone wanting to be a member of the student council, but she’d probably think she was weird for wearing a boy’s uniform. But it would defeat the purpose of not running away if she didn’t correct her and say who she was, right? Then, how could she convince her that this was really her?

As she chewed over that question, the warmth faded from her crotch, leaving the front of her underwear and pants considerably looser than the back. “Gaaah! I just don’t know!” she cried out, feeling like her brain was fried. Her gaze was pulled back down when she felt her thighs pressing up against the inside of her pants as they filled with a soft weight, becoming just round enough for her to notice. “Jeez, you’re not finished yet?!” she yelled, her thin eyebrows slanting up into a powerful glare, her hands pushing down to her sides while she balled her them into fists.

“Wh-whatever.. .I’ve gotta think about what to tell her…” she muttered, cooling down a little as she tried once again to think of how to convince her friend that she’d suddenly become a girl. She felt a little more cool air slip up her pants as her calves changed, thinning just a little and becoming more slender. Akihiko shifted her weight from foot to foot, hoping to jostle her mind into working just a little better, while her feet slimmed down, shrinking in her school shoes and leaving them just a little loose; enough to be irritating, but not enough to be too dangerous.

Akihiko still hadn’t thought of anything by the time she heard the doorknob behind her turn. She spun around, looking at it like a deer in the headlights as it slowly cracked it’s way open.

“Sorry about that, Akihiko. We can get back to work now,” Chitose said in her airy voice, with only a hint of the sadness that had caused her to leave in it, before she pushed the door open any further.

In that moment, what she needed to do struck Akihiko. She took a deep breath, screwed up her face in a determined expression even though her eyes were already welling with tears, and bolted for her, throwing her arms around the smaller girl as she yelled, “IKEDA CHITOSE!”

Chitose staggered back under the impact of Akihiko’s hug, her eyes going wide as she spread her arms out. “Th-there there, Aki-eh?” she started to say, putting her arms around her, her voice sounding warm and consoling until it suddenly rose with confusion.

“Y-yes!” Akihiko stammered, slipping down through her hug until she had to look at up her through tear-filled eyes. “It’s me!”

“B-but you’re…” Chitose trailed off, her voice sounding uncharacteristically uneven. She looked off at the distance, an increasingly shocked look on her face. “Th-there’s no way…” she murmured, looking down at the woman hanging onto her and pushing aside the fact that she was cute as she tried to place her face. She couldn’t, though, knowing that it wasn’t anyone she’d seen in class, or in the hallways, or in any of the student council’s rosters. Chitose looked further down, her confusion growing as she saw that, for whatever reason, they were wearing a boy’s uniform. She tilted her head, looking back up at the girl, ready to ask her a question, until she saw the spot in the middle of her forehead, red, and raw, and just starting to heal.

“N-no way!” Chitose exclaimed, her voice rising with what almost sounded like excitement as she pulled the purple-haired girl up and led her over to the chair. “It really is you, isn’t it?”

“It is!” Akihiko bawled, sniffling loudly as she tried to stop her tears. “Y-you believe me, right?”

Chitose smiled back warmly at her, recovering her usual demeanor. “Of course I do, silly. You’ve still got this spot here,” she explained, parting Akihiko’s bangs with her finger and touching the center of her forehead. “Remember? You were scratching there so hard while looking over the class rankings that you started to bleed.”

Akihiko chuckled lightly, her laughter interrupted by tiny sniffles. “Y-yeah… Thank goodness, I was so worried you wouldn’t believe me at all…”

“What happened though, Akihiko? You were...I mean...you weren’t like this when I left...”

“I don’t know,” she answered, wiping her nose with the back of her hand before Chitose offered her a tissue. After blowing her nose, she continued, “I was just here, thinking about everything that you’d said. I put on the hat, the one that Kyouko had, because you said the color was c-cute, and, I dunno. It was sorta itchy and uncomfortable, and then, when I took it off, I had this hair, and then everything else just...changed…”

“Oh my! That sounds like it would be pretty scary!”

“It was! I thought Kyouko had played some prank and put a wig in the hat at first but… And I was all alone and wondering what I’d do, what would happen if you came in and saw, and-and…” Akihiko’s started spitting out her words, faster and faster, her distress growing as she traced back over her feelings, until Chitose leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her once more.

“There, there. It’s okay, Akihiko. You’re not alone at all, and I’ll make sure that everything’s alright! Oh! But...maybe that name doesn’t fit right now?”

“P-probably not,” Akihiko sniffled from Chitose’s shoulder.

“Hmm… Oh! That’s a great idea!” she suddenly exclaimed before looking down at the purple-haired girl. “How does Ayano sound to you?”

“I-I guess it’s n-nice. N-not too hard to remember...” she stammered, her face suddenly getting incredibly red as Chitose softly chuckled above her.

“And I bet that hair’s getting in your way, huh? I think I can help with that,” she said, pulling away to look for something in her bag. “Looks like you’re in luck, Ayano! Now hold on, okay? It might feel a little strange at first.” she said, giggling a little before pulling Ayano closer, almost into her chest. Ayano’s face felt like it was on fire as Chitose reached her arms past her, running her fingers through her hair as she started to gather it up. Her nose was filled with a light, flowery scent as Chitose’s hand drew itself up Ayano’s hair, holding right near the top of her head until she finally pulled away. “There, perfect!”

“Eh?” Ayano asked, moving her head around as she tried to figure out what Chitose had done. She could tell things were different now, the weight on her head having shifted slightly up and to the center, and she couldn’t feel her hair whipping around her as much.

Chitose simply chuckled, reaching into her bag again and pulling out a small compact. “Relax! Here, take a look.”

Ayano looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes going wide as she saw that Chitose had tied her hair up into a long, thick ponytail at the back of her head. She moved her head around again, watching as it swayed behind her to keep up, a small smile spreading on her face.

“Looks like someone’s having fun!”

“N-not really!” Ayano huffed, closing the compact and handing it back to Chitose. “I was just seeing what it would like like if I was walking, is all.”

“If you say so, Miss Sugiura,” Chitose giggled, clearly amused at her behavior. “Have you told anyone else about what happened? Like your parents?”

“N-no...I was so busy wondering what I’d do about you that I hadn’t even… Wh-what am I going to do about them?! I can’t just sh-show up at home like this-”

“Then don’t,” Chitose said cheerily, cutting off another panicked ramble. “You can stay with me tonight, if you want. My grandma’s out of town for the week, so you won’t have anything to worry about!”

“B-but they’ll get worried if I’m not back home…”

The white-haired girl looked past Ayano for a moment, clearly thinking something over, before clapping her hands together. “That’s perfect! I can just call and say we’re really busy with student council work and Ms. Nishigaki said we could stay the night!”

“Th-that might work,” Ayano stuttered, suddenly extremely embarrassed over the very idea of the lie Chitose was planning to tell, before getting even more embarrassed by the reality of her sleeping over at her place.

Ayano nearly shot out of her chair as soon as Chitose put her hand on her shoulder, tilting her head and smiling warmly at her. “Now, that’s enough worrying about the little details. I said I was going to take care of you, and I meant it!”

“B-but-”

A slender finger pressed itself against Ayano’s lips. “Shhh!”

The two girls stared at each other for a second before chuckling, their laughter soon becoming full and deep, bringing them to the edge of tears. They were both smiling broadly by the time they recovered.

“It’s gotten pretty late on us, Ayano,” Chitose said, looking up at the clock. “Come on, let’s go home!”

Ayano nodded, and the two girls grabbed their bags, making their way to the door. As soon as they were out in the hallway, Ayano let out a small gasp.

“Oh! I should go get that hat!”

“Huh? Why’s that?” Chitose asked, stopping to look at her.

“I-I don’t… I-I mean, if it did all this, shouldn’t we not leave it around? What if somebody like Sakurako found it?”

“Hmmm… But it didn’t bother Kyouko at all when she had it on…” Chitose muttered. “Don’t worry, Ayano! I’ll go grab it!” she said, jogging back to the room.

“A-are you sure?”

“Don’t worry!”

Ayano flushed a little, leaning against the hallway wall as she waited for her friend to return. She fidgeted more and more as time passed, it somehow taking Chitose a long time to grab the hat, until she was suddenly struck with the worry that something had happened to her. In a panic, she hurried to the clubroom, running right into Chitose as she stepped into the hall.

“Wh-whoa!” they both shouted, barely staying upright as they collided.

“Chi-Chitose, are you okay?!” Ayano shouted, once she’d recovered.

“Of course, silly! Gosh, what’s gotten you so worried?”

“W-well, we were just talking about the hat and all that, so when you were taking so long, I started thinking…” she stammered, blushing heavily.

  
“Don’t worry, nothing’s happened to me. In fact, Ms. Nishigaki said she’ll take care of it!”

Ayano let out a sigh of relief, a little irritated that she’d let her imagination get the better of her, as she followed after Chitose, who’d already started walking back down the hall. She wasn’t sure how Chitose had reached that conclusion, but, as weird and out-there as Ms. Nishigaki could be, she was still an adult, and a science teacher, so it was probably in good hands. At best, the hat would end up being nothing at all, just some cheap merchandise. At worst, Ms. Nishigaki would likely reduce it to nothing more than cinders before the night was over.

Ayano followed closely behind Chitose, making idle small talk, her anxiety growing with each step closer they got to her house. Her heart was beating so loud and so fast that she could feel it in her whole body by the time they reached the front door. Ayano timidly shuffled in behind Chitose, gawking at the entryway before bolting upright as Chitose suddenly called, “Chizuru! I’m home! And we’ve got company!”

“Y-y-y-you told me your grandmother was away for the weekend!” Ayano cried out, looking at Chitose with a look of pure horror.

The other girl returned her look with a dopey smile of her own. “She is! Chizuru’s my sister, silly!”

“S-sister?!”

Before Ayano could say anything else, another girl turned the corner, looking at the two of them with a stoic gaze. Ayano could hardly believe her eyes, her attention darting between Chitose and her sister as she tried to convince herself that her friend was telling the truth and she wasn’t just seeing two of her. It took a bit, but she finally realized that, though they were the same height, had the same hair color and style, and glasses, Chizuru’s eyes were a deep green, while Chitose’s were a greyish-blue. She relaxed a little, finally noticing a difference, and turned to introduce herself to her friend’s sister.

“N-nice to meet you!” she said, bowing deeply. By the time she’d come back up, Chizuru was staring at the two of them, drooling slightly as she held her glasses in her hand. “A-a-are you okay?!”

“I’m fine, nothing’s wrong,” she said, a slight dreamy tone in her otherwise monotonous voice. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and then put her glasses back on. “I’m Chizuru, it’s nice to meet you. Thank you for taking care of my sister,” she said, her greeting almost staggeringly formal and traditional.

“N-not at all! Sh-she’s the one taking care of me… “ Ayano protested, her voice dropping in embarrassment. When she looked up from her fidgeting hands, Chizuru was drooling again. “A-are you sure you’re alright?!”

“I’m perfectly fine,” she reiterated.

Chitose chuckled softly beside Ayano, walking forward and starting to head deeper into the house. “I’m glad you two are getting along so well! Make yourself comfortable, I’ll go ahead and get dinner started.”

“Ah! I’ll help,” Chizuru offered, scampering off after her sister and leaving Ayano to settle herself onto a nearby couch, just within earshot of the kitchen.

After a couple of minutes of routine rummaging around the kitchen, the two sisters pulling out ingredients, pans, and the like, Ayano heard Chitose tell her sister, “Thanks, Chizuru! I should be good now. How about you go sit over by Ayano? She’s had a rough day and could use the company.”

Ayano’s body tensed up as Chitose’s dutiful sister walked over and took a seat next to her. It wasn’t that she hated Chizuru at all, but, like her friend had said, she’d had a rough day, and anybody would be on edge having to talk to someone new after everything that had happened.

“So, have you known my sister for very long?”

“Uh-uhm…” Ayano stuttered, wondering just how honest she should be, “n-not too long! We’re both on the student council together.”

“I see… You must be one of the new members then, right?”

“Y-yup!” she said, adding a nervous giggle.

“Hmmm…” Chizuru paused, looking Ayano over. “I only heard about two new members, though… Chitose mentioned one who was all tiny, that doesn’t sound like you, and I’m not sure you’re the…” she turned away for a moment, a blush spreading to her cheeks, “big one…”

“Uhm…” Ayano floundered, realizing she’d gotten herself trapped, feeling stupid for not realizing that, of course, Chitose would tell her sister abou who was on the student council with her. “Th-those are the new f-first-years! Y-yeah, I-I’m a second-year, like Chitose!”

“Huh…” Chizuru didn’t seem quite convinced, eying Ayano suspiciously. “And...is that a boy’s uniform you’re wearing?”

All the blood immediately rushed to Ayano’s face, turning her redder than a tomato, the heat of it so intense that she was certain steam was coming out of her ears. Right as she was about to stammer out some made-up excuse, Chitose saved her.

“Dinner’s ready, you two! Chizuru, come help me set the table!”

Chizuru sat there for a second, sizing up Ayano once more. “Coming, sis!” she called back, rising up to help with dinner and leaving Ayano to shrink back into the couch, trying to calm herself down before getting up and walking over to the small table the sisters had prepared.

Her mood picked up seeing the spread in front of her, eager to dig in as soon as she sat down.

“Sorry that the meal’s kind of simple,” Chitose apologized, before Chizuru and Ayano both chimed in, saying that it looked wonderful. The three girls couldn’t help but laugh, the tension in the air dissipating as they started to eat.

For as simple as Chitose felt it it was, Ayano happily ate away at the fish, soup, rice, and pickled vegetables, wondering if all the food Chitose cooked was that good.

“These vegetables are really good, Chitose!”

“Thanks, Ayano!” Chitose giggled. “I pickled them myself!”

“Sis is really good,” Chizuru added, pausing to pop a vegetable into her mouth, “at things like that.”

“Really? I had no idea!”

The three of them ate the rest of their meal, chatting happily, until the sisters went to take care of the dishes.

“While we’re cleaning up, you can go take a bath, okay, Ayano? It’s just down the hall there. I’ll bring you some clothes to change into later,” she added in a whisper.

“M-mmm!” Ayano agreed, stiffly walking off down the hallway to search for the room Chitose meant. Thankfully, the rooms were cutely labelled, making it easy for Ayano to find the bathroom.

She pulled out the laundry basket, starting first by taking off her loose socks, before beginning to unbutton her shirt. About three buttons down, Ayano paused, suddenly realizing the body she was about to expose herself too.

“I-it’s perfectly alright… I-I’m not some kind of pervert or anything… Besides, I’d have to take this off anyway,” she whispered, finally working up the courage to take off her shirt. She pressed on, her hands slightly shaking, until her clothes were all in the basket. As she was about to head in, she stopped, her ponytail hitting against her naked back. “Ah...that’s right…” She went back over to the basket, reaching behind her and fishing around until she finally managed to untie her hair, feeling it spill down around her. “I...I think that’s right,” she said, putting the hair tie on a cabinet before making her way into the bathroom proper.

Even though she’d worked up the nerve to undress, Ayano kept her eyes straight forward, not wanting to look down at her body any more than she absolutely had to as she made her way to the shower. She carefully sat down and started up the water, letting it run against her foot until she comfortable with the temperature.

Her hair was the easiest part of her to deal with, so she started there, though she wasn’t sure if hair she’d just gotten really needed washing. She wetted it, a little surprised at how flat and heavy it felt against her body, before pumping out a generous amount of shampoo into her hand, having no idea how much she needed for as much hair as she had. Once she started working it in, she was hooked on the feeling, her fingers running through her long, thick hair until a rich, soapy lather coated every last strand and her nose was filled with a delightful, flowery scent that, once she’d placed it, caused Ayano’s face to flush.

Rinsing the shampoo out, she reached for a sponge to clean her body, blushing as she tried to prepare herself for what was to come. She soaped it up and started cleaning herself, trying her best to not focus on the feeling of it. Once her chest was sufficiently covered in suds, she found it much easier to look down at herself, moving on to scrub at her legs.

She’d just about finished cleaning her feet when she heard the door to the bathroom open, followed by some rustling around.

“Ayano!”

The sponge she was holding shot out of her hands, her whole body tensing as she heard her name in that familiar, airy voice.

“I’ve left some clothes out for you, but they might be a little small,” Chitose said, her voice easily carrying into the bathroom itself. “Oh!” she exclaimed, suddenly sliding open the partition and heading in, “I’ll wash your back for you!”

Ayano’s whole body stiffened as Chitose’s footsteps grew nearer, worried not just because she was naked, but because she had no idea if Chitose was, too. She felt a little better when she saw a sleeved arm pick up the sponge at her side, but all that anxiety returned and then some when she felt Chitose press the sponge into her back. Ayano felt like she was going to pass out as she scrubbed her, going far lower than she ever thought she would.

“There we go, nice and clean! Chizuru and I will get in once you’re done in the bath, okay? Take your time!” Chitose said, showing herself out.

“S-s-s-s-sure thing!” Ayano called back, turning the water on to cold and spraying it directly on her face before rinsing the remaining suds off of her body and stepping into the tub.

The clothes Chitose had left for her were simple enough, though it took her a couple minutes to prepare herself to put on the soft, white panties at the top of the pile. Once those were on, the simple, pale blue pajamas weren’t anything she hadn’t dealt with before. Like Chitose had said, they were a little bit small on her, the top coming dangerously close to not covering her stomach, but, ultimately, she felt much more at ease now that she was out of her uniform.

  
The two sisters were chatting happily on the couch when she came out, chuckling softly over some joke. They looked up at her for just a second, nodded at each other, and then Chizuru went on ahead, past Ayano, to the bathroom. Meanwhile, Chitose motioned for Ayano to come over to the couch.

“Feel better now?”

“Y-yes, thank you,” Ayano replied, making her way across the room.

“Wonderful! I thought I’d have Chizuru start the bath while I dried your hair.”

Ayano looked down at the hairdryer in her friend’s hand, instantly recalling how close Chitose had gotten to her when she’d tied up her hair, and immediately flushed red, her face filling with a heat far beyond that of the steamy bathroom she’d just left..

“Th-th-that’s okay! I-it’ll dry on its own!”

“Oh, no, we can’t have that!” Chitose cried out, her voice heavy with concern, as she gently wrapped an arm around Ayano’s waist, easily pulling her down onto the couch next to her as her legs became jelly.

“If you let that much hair stay wet, you’ll definitely catch a cold!” she explained, raising her voice over the sound of the dryer.

“O-oh…” Ayano muttered, looking down at her small hands, still pink from the heat of the bath, and realizing just how little she knew about her new body, about being a girl. She swallowed her doubts as best she could, but her mind was too preoccupied, Ayano hardly even noticing that Chitose’s hand was now on her shoulder, She held her steady as she worked her other hand through her hair, the heat from dryer making the back of Ayano’s pajamas feel warm and cozy. Ayano didn’t even hear when Chitose had stopped, and was only pulled out of her head by her airy voice softly calling her name.

“Ayano?”

“Y-yes?!” she cried out, her shoulders stiffening.

“I’m all done now, silly,” Chitose softly chuckled. “I’m going to go join Chizuru in the bath, okay? Oh, while you were in there, we set up a room for you! It’s the first door on the left.”

“S-sure…” Ayano said, a pang of guilt striking her over just how out of the way the Ikeda sisters were going to take care of her. She felt even worse realizing that, as much as she was worried that she was being a bother, she was more than a little scared at the idea of being alone right now. Pushing back the conflicting emotions, she simply smiled at Chitose and said, “Thanks! I’ll be alright, so take your time!” as cheerfully as she could, her face stiffening slightly as she tried to fight back the tears welling in the corner of her eyes. She quickly stood up from the couch and headed down the hall, quickly ducking in the guest room and closing the door, resting her back against it.

“Ahah...I’m such an idiot…” she muttered, walking to the bed and sitting down on the springy mattress, the gentle smell of the freshly laundered sheets drifting up. She pushed herself back on the bed, pulling her legs close to her and wrapping her arms around them, trying not to focus on how smooth they felt as she squeezed to stop them from shaking. “I...I should’ve said something… Should’ve told her that...that I’m s-scared.”

Ayano slipped under the covers, shuffling around until she was facing the wall, her knees still brought up high to keep herself as small as possible. She lay there for awhile, her mind racing with all kinds of worrying thoughts that she couldn’t seem to escape. She started to shake as they became more and more distressing. What if her family didn’t believe what had happened to her? What if everyone else she knew shunned her, leaving her alone with nowhere to go? No matter how nice and accepting Chitose was, this wasn’t something that just happened to people, and there’s no way anyone would believe what had happened as easily as she did.

She hated it. She hated how scary, how large and insurmountable all of her fears were. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t find any sliver of hope, unable to see things working out at all. When Chitose was around, at least, she’d felt hopeful, but now, with nobody around to comfort her and nothing to distract her, her fears completely controlled her.

The worst part was how heavy each second that passed was. She had no idea how long she’d been laying there, the pillow against her face feeling damp from her tears, but the dread and worry she felt compounded more and more, until the quiet room was filled with loud, heavy sobs that shook her whole body.

“Ayano?”

Chitose’s small voice, her airy levity replaced by genuine concern, couldn’t pierce Ayano’s crying, but she didn’t wait for any kind of answer. She’d had a feeling that Ayano might be feeling down, but even she hadn’t expected her to be this bad. Even her sister had picked up on Chitose’s worry, telling her, through a mouth full of saliva, that she shouldn’t just check on her, but should sleep with her to be sure she was okay. She gently closed the door behind her, cradling her pillow under her arm, and slipped into bed next to Ayano, her tears breaking for only a moment as her body jerked from the shock of Chitose putting her arm around her and pulling her in close.

“There, there…” she whispered, resting her chin on Ayano’s head, “it’s okay. You aren’t alone, I promise.”

“Chi-Chi-Chitose?!” Ayano stuttered between sobs. “O-of course I’m not alone! I-I’m perfectly fine!” she yelled, loud sniffles betraying her words.

“It doesn’t sound like you’re fine at all, silly,” she said, the kindness in her voice nearly enough to make Ayano start bawling again. Chitose leaned over her for a second, brushing the her hand against her pillow. “Your pillow is soaked and everything. You’ll get a cold if you fall asleep like that,” she chuckled.

“I-I guess so…”

“What is it that’s got you so sad, Ayano?”

She lay there for a moment, feeling Chitose’s warmth behind her, the gentle rising and falling of her chest bringing her some measure of peace. “I’m...I’m scared…” she finally said, her words hanging heavily in the air while her friend kept silent.

“It’s...it’s a lot, what happened to me. It’s, honestly, really unbelievable. And...I just don’t think anyone will believe it, you know? I’ve got to go home at some point. How am I supposed to tell my parents? There’s no way they’d just nod and go along with it. They’d just think I was...that I was lying…” Ayano started to feel herself shaking again, her voice warbling, until Chitose hugged her tighter.

“A-and even if they did...what about school? I can’t just go in and sit down at the same desk, go to the student council like nothing’s changed. Sakurako would never let me hear the end of it,” she chuckled, weakly. “If...if I didn’t have you, Chitose...if you hadn’t believed me...I don’t know what I would have done, where I would have even gone…”

“It’s okay, Ayano. You can stay with Chizuru and me-”

“I-I can’t!” Ayano cried out, her body shaking again. “You two have been so, so nice to me, but I can’t impose on you like that. I...I can’t even begin to say how much I appreciate everything, how much you saved me, but...I can’t just rely on you forever…”

“It’s not imposing on us at all, silly,” she replied warmly, bringing her head down to rest on Ayano’s shoulder. “After everything that happened, I understand that you’re scared, but that’s no reason to keep settling for things worse than you deserve.”

“Wh-what?”

“You’re just so set on making yourself out to be a burden, but that’s not what friendship is at all, Ayano. I didn’t take you home because I had to… I wanted to. I like being upbeat and happy, but I know when something’s really bothering my friends, and I have worries of my own, you know? So there’s no way I could leave a friend alone when they were suffering. Why do you think I’m here now?”

“C-cause you could hear me crying?”

“The walls aren’t that thin, silly,” she said with an amused sigh. “There’s no reason for you to push people away, even if you are scared. You don’t need to punish yourself and turn the people who…” She paused for a moment. Ayano hung on that heavy silence, her aching heart wanting to hear what she was going to say while she tried to recall if she’d ever heard Chitose stop mid-sentence like that before. “Don’t turn the people who love you into something to be afraid of, Ayano.”

For the first time since she’d entered the guest room, something other than sadness filled Ayano. Even though the smaller girl had been hugging her tight, resting her head next to hers, her soft, white hair brushing against her cheek, she was too consumed by her own worries to really notice. Now, though, she was acutely aware of how close Chitose was, how warm her breath was in her ear, and how much faster her heart was beating. Ayano’s own started thundering in her chest as heat flooded through her face, her sobs completely fading as her mind raced to process what she’d just heard.

“L-l-l-l…”

“Mmmm.” Chitose hugged Ayano closer, nuzzling her gently. “I didn’t realize it until earlier today, you know? It’s kind of funny. I spent so long watching you chasing after Kyouko and never really thought too much about it. I always thought that there were better people you could have a crush on, or at least someone who noticed you at all, but it wasn’t until I went to tell you that I realized...well, it’s not like I was waiting by your side the whole time waiting to be recognized, but I wanted to be that person. That’s why I started tearing up and ran off to the bathroom, actually. I just sat there, thinking about what I’d said, why it made me feel the way it did.”

“I spent so long in there getting myself ready to come back and tell you, and...yeah, it was surprising to see a strange girl there, dressed in an oversized boy’s uniform. I was really scared when you started running towards me, to be honest. But that faded away when you yelled out my name. If anything, hearing you yell it like you would Kyouko’s...even though I wasn’t sure it was you, it made my heart skip a beat.”

“S-so you took me home because-”

“No, silly! I told you already. I took you in because you’re a friend. One who was, and still is, very scared.”

“B-but… H-how I look...it doesn’t make you… I mean, y-you don’t l-l-”

“It doesn’t make me love you any less, no. If anything,” she said, chuckling lightly, “seeing you get even more embarrassed now makes me love you more.”

“I-I’m n-not embarrassed at all!” Ayano cried, burying her head into the pillow.

“Of course not,” Chitose cooed, running a hand through her hair. “I mean it, though. Everything that has happened hasn’t changed how I feel at all, one way or the other. You’re definitely cute, Ayano, but I don’t love you any more as a girl, either.”

“I...I didn’t realize it either…” Ayano mumbled into the pillow, her voice small and almost pouty.

“Hmm?” Chitose hummed, even though she had heard her.

“I-I said...I didn’t realize that I...l-l-loved you until today, e-either.” Ayano could hardly hear herself by the time she finished, her heart beating so loud she could hear it in her ears. Even though Chitose had confessed first, saying her own feelings was still incredibly hard and embarrassing for her, so much so that she had to wonder if Chitose was right about her getting more flustered now that she was a girl. “A-after a point, all I could think of was what you’d think if you’d come back in the room while I was changing. If I should leave before you did or not. I...I said I was worried about my parents and everyone, but in the moment, the person I cared about seeing me the most...it was you, Chitose.”

“It’s...it has been a long day, but, now that I’ve had time to think about things, I don’t think I was so worried about you finding out just because I knew you’d be coming back soon. I knew, you know, what you were trying to say before you left. I said it to myself, “she isn’t good for you,” right before everything happened. And...I can’t even began to describe just how much better that made me feel. Admitting to myself what I should have seen all along.”

“Oh, Ayano…” Chitose breathed, hugging her tighter. “That wasn’t quite it.”

“H-huh?”

“What I was going to say… I was going to say that she wasn’t good enough for you. Not that she was bad for you, although she is, but that you deserved better,” she explained, giving Ayano a light peck on the cheek, the taller girl’s senses so numbed by what Chitose was saying that she didn’t immediately register the kiss, “that you deserved someone like...like me…”

Chitose let out a small yelp as Ayano quickly turned over, her face bright red as she forced herself to look at her friend. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw her eyes, filled with conflicting emotions instead of their usual mirth. They looked worried and hopeful at the same time, brave from what she had done, but vulnerable from what might come next. Looking at Chitose, Ayano understood exactly how she felt, and what she had meant when she said that she took Ayano in because she was a friend, one who was afraid and needed help.

Ayano swallowed hard, doing her best to fight through the emotions screaming at her, and wrapped her arm around Chitose’s waist. She pushed aside the thought that it felt so small and slender as she pulled her in close, ignoring the cute, shocked look on her face, how adorably she whispered, “A-Ayano?” Closing her eyes, worried that if she saw just how close they were she’d chicken out, she leaned in, gently pressing her lips against Chitose’s own. She felt a small, warm breath push against her before Ayano partied her lips slightly, gently wrapping them around Chitose’s lower lip. Her head was yelling, wondering how she could do this, didn’t she have any shame, weren’t Chitose’s lips so soft and tasty, what if this hurt their friendship, but she fought through it, until she felt Chitose lips pressing down on her own, returning the kiss.

It felt like an eternity before Ayano’s embarrassment finally got the better of her, though she pulled away after only a few seconds. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, her heart pounding from excitement and fear, to see Chitose looking back at her, a smile on her face and tears welling up in her happy, blue eyes. It felt like it was forced, and she was certain it looked terrible, but Ayano did her best to manage a wobbly smile of her own back.

“I...I love you, Chitose,” Ayano said, forcing the words out as clearly as she could.

Chitose wrapped her arm around Ayano, the two of them now hugging each other, and looked at her brave, embarrassed face, still beautiful no matter how worried she was. “I love you too, Ayano.”

They lay there for a moment, pressed tight against one another, enjoying their warmth and presence until the fears that had gripped Ayano so tightly started to fade away, seeming so much more insignificant wrapped in the arms of someone she loved.

“Feeling better, then? Not afraid anymore?”

“N-not too much… Th-there’s still a lot to get through, though…”

“Don’t worry too much about that, silly. I can go with you to explain to your parents, and, even if they don’t believe us, you can still say with Chizuru and me. I know grandma won’t mind the company at all! And everything should be taken care of for school tomorrow, so-”

“H-huh? Wh-what do you mean?”

“Well, I told you Ms. Nishigaki would handle everything, right?”

“I-I thought she was going to take the hat… Y-you told her about everything?!”

“No, silly! I went back to get the hat and Rise said that she’d take care of everything for us! She said she’d give it to Ms. Nishigaki and they’d both make sure that everything was okay for you to go to school tomorrow! They even dropped off a uniform for you while you were in the bath.”

“P-P-President Matsumoto?! S-she knows?!”

Chitose looked at Ayaka questioningly, her face clouded with confusion. “But...she knew already, Ayano...”

“What? How could she-”

“She was there the whole time, even when I left. Haha, you must have been really flustered not to notice, huh? When you were hugging me back in the room, she was the one who told me that it really was you and that she’d seen the whole thing happen. She even thought that ‘Ayano’ would be a cute name for you.”

Ayano’s face went blank as she dug back into her mind, desperately trying to figure out if what Chitose said was true. It wasn’t like her to joke around, but, even after everything that had happened, what she was saying seemed too far fetched. There were a couple of times Chitose had seemed distracted...was she really talking to President Matsumoto? Even though she was a year older than Ayano and Chitose, her small stature and excessively quiet nature often made it hard to notice her, to the point where they’d sometimes spend a whole week thinking they hadn’t seen her when she’d really been at her desk the whole time, so maybe it was possible. Had Ayano really been so absorbed in Kyouko and then the changes happening to her that she missed her?

“Th-then I don’t...I don’t have to worry about going to school tomorrow?”

“Hmmm...I don’t think so! We’ll have to talk to them, but it shouldn’t be any more stressful than a normal first day!”

“That’s...that’s not so bad...I guess…”

“Don’t worry, silly! Like I said, I’ll be there with you the whole time! You’ve got nothing to worry about! Instead of turning it into something scary in your head, you should turn it into something fun!”

“S-something fun?!”

“Yeah! If it’s like you’re a new student having your first day at a new school, why not make the most of it? Act however you want, however you want the new you to be!”

“T-the new me…”

“I mean, it’s still you even if your body has changed, but-”

“Nnnh,” Ayano hummed, lightly rocking her head against the pillow. “You’re right. I...I spent a lot of time focused on people and things that made me feel bad, and I’m sure I took that out on other people all the time… Maybe it’ll be good to try something different…”

Chitose smiled warmly at Ayano before leaning in and giving her another peck on the lips. “That’s my good, brave girl,” she chuckled, before letting out a light yawn.

Ayano couldn’t help but yawn in turn, all the stress and excitement of the day finally hitting her all at once.

“Hehe...guess we should get some sleep, huh, Ayano?”

“Y-yeah. Chi-Chitose...a-are you going to sleep h-here… I-in this bed, I mean…”

“Not if it’s a problem,” she replied, smiling warmly.

Ayano vigorously shook her head against the pillow, feeling her soft, silky hair beneath her cheek. “N-not at all…” she muttered, pulling Chitose in even closer, as though she was worried she might try and get up anyway.

The two smiled, wished each other goodnight, and kissed one more time before their eyes started to grow heavy. Ayano fell asleep first, thoroughly spent from the busy day, giving Chitose a moment to admire her sleeping face, the cute way her lips parted just a little, before sleep overtook her as well, the smaller girl leaning in to rest her head against Ayano’s chest as she drifted off.

They slept well through the night and were still wrapped in each others’ arms by the time Chizuru came to wake them up. She paused for a moment after opening the door, a stream of drool running out of the corner of her mouth as she saw the two together. It was with great remorse that she finally stepped in, gently nudging her sister’s shoulder as she struggled to keep herself together.

“Nnnh...Chizuru?” Chitose asked, pulling her arm off of Ayano only to rub the sleep out of her eyes and reach for her glasses on the nearby nightstand.

“Good morning, sis. Sorry to have to wake you, but we need to start getting ready for school. I don’t think you heard our alarm from here.”

“Oh my!” she said, sitting up. “Ayano, come on silly, we have to get up!”

“Mmm...Chitose...just five more minutes…” she mumbled, her arms flailing at the empty space in front of her.

“I’ll leave you two to it,” Chizuru said, giving a thumbs up to her sister with one hand and covering her mouth with the back of the other as she headed out of the room.

By now, Ayano had realized that there was no Chitose there for her to hug anymore, letting out a confused, dissatisfied grumble as she blearily sat up in bed herself.

“Good morning, sleepy head!” Chitose chirped, brushing a stray hair away from Ayano’s head.

“M-morning already?”

“Yup! I’m going to go back to my room and get ready, so you do the same, okay? We put the uniform that Ms. Nishigaki gave us up in the closet, along with some fresh underwear. I’ll be in after I’m done if you need any help, okay? And remember, we’re going to make today fun, right?”

Ayano smiled, nodding happily before Chitose left the room. Sliding out of bed, she realized that she wasn’t really sure what she needed to do to get ready for school at all. Before, she’d just toss on her uniform, sling her backpack over her shoulder, and head out, but, looking at the small mirror on the dresser, she realized that wasn’t really an option, at least not with all the hair she had now. She saw there was a brush and hair ties next it, another reminder of the kindness and consideration the Ikeda sisters, her friends, were showing her. Still, Chitose was the one who had fixed her hair before, and she didn’t even have the first clue how she was going to make it look that good again.

Writing off the hair for later, she pulled open the closet, finding it relatively empty aside from the girl’s uniform hanging inside. It gave her a pause, something about her now being the one to put on an article of clothing that, despite how much she saw it in her day-to-day life, had always seemed so alien hammering in the reality of her condition even more. She didn’t dwell on it, though. After all, she’d promised Chitose that she was going to make today fun, and she didn’t want to let her friend down.

Off to the side, on top of a little shoe hutch, was a pair of underwear. After taking off her pajamas and putting them in a small hamper, she put those on first, with far less anxiety and trepidation than she’d shown last night, having found herself strangely accustomed to the feeling of them snugly pressing against her body. After that, the uniform was a snap to put on, their school’s uniform for girls being little more than a frock over a dress, meaning all she really had to do was slip the long-sleeved, burgundy dress on over her head, and then fasten the black-hemmed, white frock over it. She stood there for a moment, looking down at herself, trying not to make a big deal out of her first time wearing a dress.

As she walked over to the dresser, though, she couldn’t help but notice how breezy it felt between her legs, the open bottom of the dress allowing air to freely flow up and tickle against her soft, smooth thighs. Even when she tried to minimize it, taking steps as small as she possibly could, she still found herself distracted by the foreign sensation.

Reaching for the hairbrush that had been left for her, she awkwardly turned it over in her hand, more than a little unsure how to begin. Eventually, she decided to just do the best she could, carefully bringing the brush up to her head, as though she was worried it was going to bite her. She’d only managed to run it through a bit of her hair before Chitose came in.

“Good morning again! I was a little worried you were going to go back to bed,” Chitose chuckled. “Oh, thar uniform looks so good on you, Ayano!”

“D-d-does it?!” Ayano stammered, barely having the presence of mind to put the brush down on the dresser before turning to her friend. “I-it’s not too...not too awkward or anything?”

“No, not at all! Why would it be?”

“I-it’s just...uhm...I mean...it’s kind of...kind of cold...a-and isn’t it showing a lot of...l-l-leg?”

“Oooh,” Chitose said, a look of realization dawning on her face as she looked down at Ayano’s legs. “I guess that would be hard to get used to if you’d never worn a dress before. I know, one second!”

Chitose left the room while Ayano stood there, blushing deeply. When she came back, Chitose had something black folded in her hands. She gave it to Ayano, who returned the gesture with a confused look.

“They’re tights, silly! It’s a cold day to begin with, but you’ll feel the air less if you wear those!”

“Th-thanks…” she mumbled, touched by her friend’s kindness, but continued to stare it her anxiously.

Picking up on the hint, Chitose chuckled to herself, then walked over to the corner and turned around. “Go ahead, Ayano!” she said, humming to herself.

Ayano mumbled an affirmation, then went over to the bed to slip on the tights. She was surprised to find how different they were from just putting on a pair of pants. Their soft, warm fabric clung to her legs as she pulled them up, and she had to carefully hiked up her dress as she worked them over her underwear. It took a bit of effort to smooth them out, but when she was done, she had to admit that Chitose was right. Her legs felt much better, and wearing her uniform felt just a little bit less distracting.

“All done?”

“Y-yeah! Thanks, Chitose.”

“No problem! But we need to hurry up if we don’t want to be late. Turn around and I’ll take care of your hair for you, okay?”

“S-sure…”

It didn’t take long for Chitose to brush Ayano’s hair, expertly working through it and teasing out any snarls with her fingers, showing an expertise that surprised Ayano, considering how short she kept her hair. When she was done, she tied it up again, just as she had the day before.

“There we go, all done! Come on, Chizuru’s waiting for us!”

“Th-thanks!”

Ayano followed Chitose out of the guest bedroom, fidgeting slightly as she tried to calm the blush on her face. When they got out into the living room, though, Chizuru was nowhere to be found.

“Chizuru? Sis?” Chitose called out, looking around and checking back in their room while Ayano went to the entryway, finding no Chizuru, but a pair of simple, brown loafers that looked markedly newer than the ones next to them. She slipped them on her feet, surprised to see they fit, adjusting them as Chitose came back.

“I guess she must have left without us...that’s weird…” Chitose mumbled, more confused than worried. “Oh, that’s right, it’s pretty cold out,” she remarked, slipping on her own shoes and opening up the nearby closet. “Let’s see...we’ve got gloves…and...huh? I know we had scarves in here yesterday...there were all kinds of them…where could they have gone...”

She looked more than a little perplexed when she finally closed the closet, holding a large scarf and a pair of matching gloves in her arms.

“Well, the gloves will help, at least,” she said, handing a pair of earthy, tan gloves with a burgundy ribbon on the back to her while she slipped on a pair of her own, “but this scarf is all we have. It’s really long, but…”

Chitose let the words hang there, knowing by now that even the implication of her words would be enough to make Ayano a flustered mess. Sure enough, her face was now a solid red, her mouth drawing tight as she stared at the tan scarf.

“Chi-Chitose…”

“Hmm?”

“Y-you said...to treat it like a first day...l-like I’m completely new and no one knows me...and to h-have fun, right?”

“Yes?” Chitose responded, her voice raising inquisitively.

“Th-then...then let’s wear it...t-together…” Ayano mumbled, her voice shrinking as she stared at the floor.

Ayano closed her eyes, terrified that she’d said to much, asked for something too bold, standing there with her fears weighing on her for a heavy moment. She let out a gasp as she felt something soft and warm slip around her neck, looking up to see that Chitose, having already wrapped the scarf around her neck, was doing the same for Ayano.

“Alright then, Ayano,” she chirped, happily. “Ready to head out?”

Ayano’s voice failed her completely, so she simply nodded and gave her friend her best smile before they headed out the door.

They didn’t see Chizuru at all as they made their way down the street, but the two didn’t seem to care much as they walked together. Chitose hadn’t tied the scarf too tight, giving them plenty of room to be comfortable, but, as nervous as she was, Ayano was committed now and wanted to make the best of the situation, staying so close to her friend that their shoulders were touching. Chitose didn’t seem to mind, either, happily leaning up against her and wrapping her fingers around Ayano’s own after they’d been walking for a bit.

Ayano’s grip tightened a little as they started to pass more and more students from their school, but, as much as her nerves told her to let go, she didn’t, gaining confidence that any stray glances they got were simply because they were wondering who the new girl was with Chitose Ikeda. By the time the school gate was in view, though, that belief had started to wane, the two of them constantly getting curious glances, followed by other students happily gossiping to their friends.

“Don’t worry, Ayano! I’m sure it’s nothing about you,” Chitose chirped, trying to reassure her friend, whose eyes were darting all around them.

“Hey, isn’t that…”.

“Really, the two of them?”

“I knew they were close, but I had no idea!”

“Isn’t that sweet? I always thought Chitose and Ayano were cute together…”

At that last bit of barely-hidden gossip, Ayano’s face turned red-hot, painting even the tips of her ears, realizing that, this whole time, everyone had been talking about them. About her.

“Chi-Chi-Chitose…” Ayano started, her voice small and warbly.

“Oh my...that’s very unexpected,” Chitose said, seemingly nowhere near as bothered by the chatter surrounding them as Ayano was.

“Wh-what’s going on? I-it was supposed to be like a f-first day. L-like I was a transfer student…”

“There, there, don’t worry, silly! We’ll go talk to Ms. Nishigaki before class. Maybe she really got the word out about you,” Chitose replied, sounding a little unsure herself.

The two quickly made their way into school, mostly spurred on by Ayano, who, to her credit, still hadn’t let go of Chitose’s hand or pulled away from her despite all the students around them chatting about the couple. If anything, Ayano was squeezing her hand even tighter, working hard and mustering up all the courage she could.

Thankfully, Ms. Nishigaki was in her classroom, wiping off her soot-covered face as the girls walked in. Ayano’s face scrunched up a little at the scent of sulfur hanging heavily in the chemistry lab, but Chitose didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Ah, there you two are. I figured you’d be coming soon,” she said, smiling at them. “So, this is Miss Sugiura, then?”

Caught off guard, Ayano bowed, pulling Chitose down with her. By the time Ayano realized she was introducing herself to someone she already knew, the teacher had already started laughing.

“Yes, but, Ms. Nishigaki, we’re a bit confused about something,” Chitose said, stepping in to try and save Ayano from further embarrassment. Rise said you’d take care of the hat Ayano was given, and she’s obviously told you about everything that happened, but it looks like everyone else at school knows, too.“

“Oh? That’s very strange, indeed…” Ms. Nishigaki said, raising an eyebrow. “Neither of us told anyone about Ayano here. Heck, we didn’t even say much at all. I only told her teachers that they’d be getting a transfer student in today. That was yesterday, though, and they did seem a bit confused when I brought it up again today…”

“Wh-what about the hat?” Ayano asked, still blushing.

“Ah, I had a look at that thing last night. Pretty cheaply made. Hard to believe it’s actually official merchandise for whatever that Mirakurun thing is, but I guess companies are cutting whatever corners they can these days. Seemed like a perfectly normal hat, as far as I could tell. Blew up like one, too.”

“B-blew up?!”

“Oh my…”

“Well, yeah. That’s science, after all,” Ms. Nishigaki said, her dirty face beaming with pride.

“Th-then we d-don’t know why I ch-changed or anything?”

“Total mystery! Or, at least it is now. If you’d like, I can run some tests on you, maybe see if-”

“That’ll be alright, Ms. Nishigaki,” Chitose chimed in, interrupting the teacher. “I think Ayano’s going to be alright. After all, if you and Rise didn’t tell all the students about her, there must be some reason why everyone seems to recognize her.”

“That seems like a solid conclusion, but, like I said, there’s no real way to know for sure,” Ms. Nishigaki said, still looking at Ayano. “But, if everything’s working out for you kids, that’s what really matters.”

Ayano let out a huge sigh, relieved to hear her drop the subject, just before the bell rang.

“Well, then, you two had better head off to class. You don’t want to be late and I’ve still got some cleaning up to do before anyone else comes by,” Ms. Nishigaki said, shooing the girls out into the hallway, closing the door behind them.

“Th-then...do we just…”

“Yup! Let’s go to class, silly!”

Sure enough, despite all of her anxiety, very little was out of the ordinary that day. Ayano took her usual seat next to Chitose, the only indication that anything was different being the rumor making it around school that two of them had finally hooked up. This did, of course, cause her a great deal of distress, but she was so overjoyed and relieved when her teacher took attendance, lazily calling, “Ayano Sugiura,” as though it were an everyday occurrence, that she hardly cared.

She was almost able to forget all of her nerves, happily holding Chitose’s hand after school as they made their way to the student council room. Her heart still beat hard as they opened the door, the whole room turning to look at them as they stepped inside. Ayano took special care to notice Rise at her desk, who gave her neutral look before almost imperceptibly nodding at her. Sakurako and Himawari stared at them a moment longer, before sharing an amused glance, smiling, and welcoming the two to the room.

After all the work was finished, the two left together, Chitose finally finding her sister waiting for her at the gate.

“There you are, Chizuru!” she said, running over to her sister and giving her a hug.

Chizuru smiled warmly, looking down at her sister, then tracing the scarf over to Ayano, who was standing nearby. She gave her an even bigger smile, as though she was saying, “You’re welcome,” before it broke, a stream of drool streaming down the side of her mouth.

“Ready to head home, sis?” Chizuru asked, shaking herself out of her fantasies and looking down at Chitose.

“Actually...Ayano and I have one more thing we need to do. You can go on ahead, I shouldn’t be too long!”

The two sisters said goodbye before turning and parting in opposite directions, Ayano’s heart pounding as she realized where they were heading.

“Y-you’re sure about this, Chitose?”

“Of course, silly! You’ve got to go back home sometime! Beside, after school today, maybe your parents won’t think anything’s wrong!”

Ayano wanted to believe her, more than anything, but, even though all the evidence they’d seen from school said that she was absolutely right, she’d still worried herself sick by the time they’d reached her block. She hesitated at the front door, not sure if she should ring the doorbell or just head in like she always would, until Chitose urged her for the later.

“I-I’m home! A-a-and I brought a f-friend!” she called out to the house, Chitose’s firm grip the only thing keeping her grounded.

Her mother came out, smiling warmly at the two of them as Chitose introduced herself, and Ayano nearly felt her soul leaving her body, ready to topple over, as her mother simply thanked her for always taking such good care of her daughter. Chitose gave Ayano a knowing smile, then excused herself, declining her mother’s offer to stay for dinner, saying she needed to get home and eat with her sister.

Later that night, after a long soak in her own bath, marveling at how none of the scenarios she’d thought would happen were true at all, how everything had turned out so, so much better than she’d ever expected, Ayano laid down on her bed, her just-dried hair splayed down around her, and stared up at the ceiling. She was brought out of her contemplation by a gentle jingle from her phone. Smiling, she unlocked it, eager to read the message from Chitose.

_Ayano, I’m so proud of you for going through with today! I know it was hard and scary, but you were really wonderful! You made it really fun!_

She couldn’t help but smile, practically moved to tears over the kind words from her girlfriend. At least, she was according to everyone else at school. Still, even just casually thinking of her as such cause a blush to enter her cheeks.

_Oh, and don’t forget, we have that test in a few days. You don’t want to lose to Kyouko, right?_

Ayano snapped up at her last message, suddenly realizing she was right. Though she wasn’t looking to get into a contest with Kyouko, after all that happened, she didn’t really want to deal with her again. Considering she’d bet that the two of them would join her club, she had to do everything in her power to make sure she was number one. She hopped out of bed, pulled a book off her desk, and immediately started studying, knowing she could get in a good three or four hours before she really needed to sleep.

She dedicated herself to her cause over the next few days, falling so easily into her usual routine that the only thing that really felt any different about her life was her girlfriend and how much happier she was, even if every spare moment she had was spent with her nose in a book. Still, that happiness was nothing to scoff at, and she’d even managed to scrape together a solid stockpile of confidence by the time the test rolled around, putting everything she had into it.

A couple of days later, the results were posted, the students in her class eagerly crowding around the board to see. Ayano’s nerves were a little shaky as she looked up at the list, finding her name just one spot shy of the top spot, underneath Kyouko Toshinou.

“Th-that Kyouko...s-she...s-she probably didn’t study at all again…” she muttered, walking to the back of the room to where the blonde-haired girl sat, dozing off.

“K-Kyouko…”

The girl grumbled gently to herself, pulling herself out of her haze and looking up at Ayano.

“G-good job. O-on the test, I mean. I guess...I guess you w-won…”

“Won? Did we have a bet or something?” she asked, her voice genuinely confused, but with a bit of excitement creeping in as soon as she realized she might be getting something.

“Y-you…”

“Oooh, I hope it was for something good! Some rum raisin would be really nice right about now…”

Ayano stared at her, in complete disbelief, not sure if she didn’t remember their bet because of what had happened with the hat or because she really did care that little about the people around her.

“W-we didn’t have a bet at all! I was simply congratulating you on a job well done! Education is its own reward, after all,” she huffed, walking away to head back to her seat, while Kyouko frowned at the clichéd line, before turning to her dark-haired friend and asking for ice cream.

“Honestly, I can’t believe it…”

Chitose hardly could either when she told her about it later as the two headed out after their student council work was done at the end of the day.

“Well, that certainly is like her!” Chitose said, with far less contempt in her voice than Ayano’s own grumbles.

“That’s fine, though. It means we don’t have to join that club of theirs.”

“And we can spend more time together,” Chitose added, sending a blush through Ayano’s face.

“Oh, one second!” she called out, stopping Ayano from walking away as she dug through her locker, even though she’d already put on her shoes.

“I got this for you!” she said, walking over to Ayano and handing her bouquet full of light pink flowers.

“Wh-what is this for?” Ayano asked, her voice growing small and timid as she took the flowers from Chitose.

“For how well you did on the test, silly!”

“B-but I...I didn’t come in first…”

“That doesn’t matter! You tried your best, though, studying super hard! And I know you were doing it because...well, because you didn’t want to have time taken away from us. Isn’t that right?”

“I-I g-guess…” Ayano pouted, looking away.

For as warm as her face felt, though, they were nothing compared to the warmth of Chitose’s lips pressing against her cheek.

“Besides, Ayano...there’s nothing wrong with giving my girlfriend a present, is there?” she chuckled, watching Ayano’s eyes grow wide, filled with equal parts of surprise, love, and embarrassment.

“O-o-of course not!” she stuttered back, following Chitose as she left the school. “J-just watch, I’ll get you presents all the time!”

“Oh my, I’d like that!” Chitose giggled, before the two said their goodbyes and headed home, Ayano looking down at the flowers and thinking of Chitose the whole way, a wide smile spread across her blushing cheeks.


End file.
